Hope everyone had a wonderful relaxing Memorial Day weekend. For myself, I went to a new winery called Basignani, in Baltimore County Maryland. Super cute and smaller venue, now I have had their wine at a wine festival before, however I did not get the opportunity to taste their premium wines there. So Saturday I opted in for the premium wine tastings and it was only $13. I ended up really liking their 2015 Cabernet because it had a herb after taste. Yes herb, and some of you might say “no that’s not for me,” but honestly it was such a light blend that I was in love and bought two bottles!
Now with this venue, there was plenty of seating, and they even serve pizza on Friday and Saturday, with an outdoor brick oven. I asked the owner to take a picture but I don’t think he liked the camera much. They have two sheep dogs running around that were reschued, one is friendly and the other one is more shy and runs. So if you are ever looking for a cute little Vineyard to check out I highly recommend Basignani.
So once we did our tastings, us girls went back to our little table and poured wine from our purchased bottles and ate a ton of food. More than I’d like to admit. My diet Saturday was awful, yummy, but not healthy. That’s ok though because I had a blast with my girls. I get asked a lot by people, “what should I pair my wine with for food.” So today on my blog I’m going to give you some lists of foods I’ve tried with each red and white wines and my favorite wine brands and names. You ready?? To start I’m going to list my favorite red wines and then my favorite white wines, followed by food pairing with both.
White wine favorites:
- Infamous Goose- Sauvingnon Blanc (hard to find but the best)
- Chloe’s- Prosecco
- Kendall Jackson- Vintners reserve Chardonnay
- Hondarrabi Zuri- Hiruzta Bodega, Spain, Getariako Txakolina 2015 ( The most amazing wine I have ever had, Unfortunately I can’t find it in stores, so I will probably have to order this.)
- Cupcake Vineyards- Sauvignon Blanc
- Chloe- Pinot Grigio
- Apothic- White
- Cakebread Cellars- Sauvignon Blanc
- Basignani- Riesling
- Peekaboo- Chardonnay (Traveling Vineyards)
So my last wine I listed is through a company called Traveling Vineyards. My friend Anne sells wine for this company and she will travel to local homes and people can have wine parties. I mention this because I get a majority of my wines from this company. You do have to have someone 21 and over to sign for the wine, but these are the best wines I’ve ever had. My other favorite whites from Traveling Vineyards are, Hoot, Beeline, and Zapatazo.
To pair with white wines-
- Shrimp Scampi
- Fire cracker shrimp or bang bang shrimp
- Fish- Bronzini, monkfish, or any white fish
- Scallops
- Havarti Dill cheese or goat cheese
- Mussells
- Pineapple salsa or jam with brie cheese on crackers
- Stuffed Jalapeno poppers
- Salads
- lemon bars- dessert
- Sushi
- Fruit salad
- Chicken skewers
- Italian dressing pasta (summer salads)
- Salmon Crostini
- Anything shellfish
Red Wine Favorites-
- Apothic Crush
- Red Velvet Cupcake- Black Forrest
- Chloe- Merlot
- 19 Crimes- red blend
- OJA- Syrah (Traveling Vineyards)
- Ignia-Red Blend (Traveling Vineyards and my all time favorite wine. Besides “M” from Black ankle unfortunately the Black Ankle one is gone (only 250 cases and $50, I’m sad I drank it already. LOL)
- Rayado- Cabernet Sauv. (Traveling Vinyards)
- Desvia- Tempranillo Garnacha (TV as well) but if you can find this blend together and you love strong reds like me, find a good one and ask at your local wine supplier.
- 14 Hands- Cabernet
- Game of thrones- Red blend, and yes this is a really good red.
T pair with red wines-
- Anything chocolate, especially fudgy brownies ( I can give out an excellent recipe, just message or comment under this blog post for it.)
- Beef Tare Tare
- PIZZA!!!!
- Salami, prosciutto and sharp cheeses
- Red pepper jelly and room temperature cream cheese (pour pepper jelly on top and supply small knife) So Yummy on butter crackers
- Anything with Tomato Sauce, so Italian meals
- Mozzarella Sticks
- Red Meats like Steak, Bison or Venison
- Escargot
- Caprese Salad
- Bruschetta
- Stuffed Mushrooms
- Duck
- Smoked Gouda
- Ribs
- Red Velvet Cupcakes
I seriously could go on and on with wines and food pairings. I’m giving a few good recommendations in hopes that this helps with either your next party, bbq, or vineyard visit. I know not everyone drinks wine, but if you are a wino like me then this will give some ideas for ya! Enjoy your wine sipping and tasting, and yes please drive responsibly. DD or UBER/LYFT.